Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly attends a joint news conference in Kyiv, Ukraine Jan. 18, 2022. (Reuters/Ukrainian Foreign Ministry)
Canada is sending a delegation to Haiti to assess the nation’s ongoing power struggle, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said on Oct. 27 following a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Ottawa.
Joly called it “an assessment mission” while speaking to reporters during a press conference.
“The goal is to be able to have information coming from the team that is right now in Haiti on these three crises,” Joly said, referring to the nation’s security, humanitarian issues, and political unrest.
The situation in Haiti has deteriorated significantly since President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in July 2021. Gang violence and political interference have risen to the point where one criminal organization titled “G9 and Family” is demanding the resignation of Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
Haitian demonstrators have also blockaded major roads and ports of entry into some of the nation’s largest cities, notably its capital, Port-au-Prince.
“Haiti now faces a situation where gangs dominate important space in Port-au-Prince, the capital, as well as in other parts of Haiti,” said Blinken, noting that blockades are threatening the importation of fuel, food, and clean water.
Blinken also said if Haiti’s situation continues deteriorating, it would make the possibility of a future democratic election “impossible.”
“There needs to be fair elections happening,” said Joly. “And we need to make sure that the environment for these elections to happen is the right one.”
‘Different Options’
As of Oct. 11, there had been 16 confirmed cholera deaths in Haiti, harkening back to the country’s 2010 outbreak, during which time over 10,000 Haitians died of cholera.
Cholera spreads through water contaminated by the feces of an infected person, which is becoming more common as Haiti’s clean drinking water supply dwindles.
“Haiti has more than its hands full,” said Blinken, adding that Haiti must be able to “supply itself” with clean water and other essential resources.
Joly didn’t specify whether the Canadian government is contemplating delegating military to Haiti to help resolve the situation. She said the Haitian police “needs to be able to handle the gangs, which is not the case at this point.”
“We’re looking at different options,” she said. “But we want to make sure that we have the right assessment.”
“I’ve said it many times: [the solution] needs to be by and for Haitians, so we will be working with Haitians themselves.”
The Canadian Press, Reuters, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
